Maker Monsters: Stories of Facing Imposter Syndrome and Fear of Rejection

We’re back again with our maker monsters and this time we are unpacking imposter syndrome and fear or rejection. Cousins (or siblings) that often hold us back from our next creative quest.

In this episode, we follow multimedia journalist Natalia Aldana, organizer and artist Aisha White, podcaster and indie creator Jay Clouse, and we hear from marketing legend Joe Pulizzi as they (and me, Jay Acunzo) learn to navigate how these maker monsters attempt to take hostage their (and our) sense of self worth.

So many of us conflate our professional success with personal worth, so what happens when we don’t believe in ourselves or we are paralyzed by potential rejection? And how can we all keep fighting back and overcome our own maker monsters?

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Weekly stories and frameworks about how to create more resonant work. Join thousands of subscribers, from entrepreneurs, freelancers, and independent creators, to marketers and leaders at brands like Adobe, Red Bull, Shopify, Salesforce, the BBC, Wistia, HubSpot, Drift, ProfitWell, a16z, and the New York Times.

VOICES IN THIS EPISODE:

Natalia Aldana is a multimedia journalist and international news editor. She is an audio producer for Al Jazeera’s podcast, The Take after working for The Ezra Klein Show and Recode Decade. She reports on stories around crime and justice, immigration, politics and music. 

Aisha White is a cultural organizer, artist, and researcher focused on community building and social impact. Her personal work is built around public health and fellowship.  

Joe Pulizzi is an entrepreneur and marketing speaker and entrepreneur. Joe has founded multiple startups including The Tilt and is the author of several books including the best-selling Content Inc. 

Jay Clouse hosts the podcast Creative Elements and builds projects to serve fellow creators.  He's also the head of community at Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn.

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PRODUCTION:

- Creator, host, writer, and editor: Jay Acunzo - https://jayacunzo.com

- Producer and researcher: Ilana Nevins - https://www.ilananevins.com

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Unthinkable is a storytelling podcast about creative people who break from conventional thinking to make what matters most. We’re traveling the business world to learn how to create work that resonates — with powerful stories from makers, marketers, and leaders like the CEOs of Zoom and Patreon, execs from Adobe and Disney, and creators like writer Tim Urban, comedian Sarah Cooper, and photographer Chase Jarvis. From artisans to entrepreneurs, writers, designers, podcasters, video creators, and all the weird and wonderful nooks of the working world, we’re meeting inspiring people to learn what we can do to resonate more deeply with the work we create.

Listeners have called the show “This American Life for my work” with stories “as captivating as some of the best, like Malcolm Gladwell and Dan Carlin.”

Thanks for listening and supporting Unthinkable!

 
 
Jay Acunzo